page_title: Music of Myanmar
section_title: Musical instruments
hierarchical_section_title: Music of Myanmar / Musical instruments
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Zwei Saung-Spielerinnen in der Abendvorstellung der "Manalay Marionettes Co., Ltd.", 66th street, betw. 26th + 27th street, neben Sedona-Hotel, Mandalay, Myanmar. Fotoerlaubnis mündlich. Bühnenlicht + Blitz English: Two women harpists playing the Saung, a bow harp from Myanmar also called Burmese or Myanmar harp, in the evening performance of the "Manalay Marionettes Co., Ltd.", 66th street, betw. 26th + 27th street, next to the Sedona-Hotel, Mandalay, Myanmar. Photographed with permission by verbal consent. Exposure: stage light and flashlight.
context_page_description: The music of Myanmar shares many similarities with other musical styles in the region. Traditional music is melodic, having its own unique form of harmony, often composed with a, a or a time signature. In Burmese, music segments are combined into patterns, and then into verses, making it a multi-level hierarchical system. Various levels are manipulated to create a song. Harmony in Mahagita is known as twe-lone, which is similar to a chord in western music. For example, C is combined with F or G.
  Musical instruments include the brass se, hne, the bamboo wa, as well as the well-known saung, a boat-shaped harp. Traditionally, the instruments are classified into five groups called pyissin turiya. These instruments are played on a musical scale consisting of seven tones, each associated with an animal that is said to be the producer of the tone. Each tone can be raised, lowered, or played naturally, resulting in twenty-one possible combinations. The pat waing drum circle, for example, consists of twenty-one drums, one tuned to each tone in each possible combination. Similarly, the Kyi Waing, a twenty-one gong instrument is struck with a knobbed stick placed alongside the pat waing.
context_section_description: Musical instruments include the brass se (which is like a triangle), hne (a kind of oboe) and bamboo wa, as well as the well-known saung, a boat-shaped harp.  Traditionally, instruments are classified into five classes, called pyissin turiya (ပဉ္စင်တူရိယာ):
  Kyei (ကြေး) - brass instruments
  Thayyei (သားရေ) - leather-covered drums
  Kyo (ကြိုး) - string instruments
  Lei (လေ) - wind instruments
  Letkhout (လက်ခုပ်) - percussion instruments
  These instruments are played in a musical scale consisting of seven tones, each associated with an animal that is said to be the producer of the tone.  Each tone can be played raised, lowered or natural (corresponding to sharp, flat or natural), resulting a possible twenty-one combinations.  The pat waing drum circle, for example, consists of twenty-one drums, one tuned to each tone in each possible combination, and the saing saya (maestro) sits in the middle using various parts of his hands to strike the drums to produce a melody. The Kyi Waing is the gong circle strung up in the same fashion and the gongs are struck with a knobbed stick and in accompaniment to the pat waing.
  The Burmese harp is of special significance.  It dates back to the 9th century, though it has changed quite a bit since then, expanding, for example, from three strings to sixteen.  During the Konbaung period (1752–1885), courtly musicians included Queen Ma Mya Galay, Princess Hlaing Hteikhaung Tin, Minister Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa, and King Nat Shin Naung of Taungoo.
  Beginning just before World War II, the piano was adapted to the performance of Burmese traditional music, modelling its technique after that of the pattala and saung. The best known performer of Burmese piano was Gita Lulin Maung Ko Ko, known as U Ko Ko (1928–2007).
caption: Two female musicians play the saung at a performance in Mandalay.
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